News Release

Conservation planning for wild buffalo in central India

18 January 2013

A three day workshop held in India and attended by the IUCN SSC Asian Wild Cattle Specialist Group has identified methods of protecting the Wild Asian Buffalo (Bubalus arnee), a species listed as Endangered on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™.

Wild Asian Buffalo are considered to be economically important animals as they are the original source of domestic buffalo. Threatened by poaching and loss of habitat, the population of Wild Asian Buffalo (Bubalus arnee) in Assam state numbers about 3,000 individuals.

Hosted by the State Governments of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh; the Wildlife Trust of India; the Satpuda Foundation; and the IUCN SSC Asian Wild Cattle Specialist Group, the conservation planning workshop was held 5-7 November 2012. Participants identified actions on how to jointly protect the Wild Asian Buffalo in central India and there was agreement that the population size there needs to be increased. There was also special focus on how to ensure that there is effective management of the new Kolamarka sanctuary.

Now the workshop has been completed, the participants will produce an action plan titled “Status Review and National Recovery Programme for Wild Buffalo in India”. Information collected during the workshop about the current status and distribution of the Wild Asian Buffalo will also be used to update information about this species on The IUCN Red List.

The workshop was supported by Government of Maharashtra; Wildlife Trust of India; IUCN SSC Sub-Committee for Species Conservation Planning; Environment Agency Abu Dhabi; Givskud Zoo; the Government of Chhattisgarh; the Satupda Foundation; and Earthwatch.